Former UBOB officer sentenced to prison

The Supreme Court of Tajikistan found Colonel of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Akmal Yusupzoda and his relative Ismoiljon Shukurov guilty of the kidnapping and murder of university lecturer Ismoil Rakhmonov.

According to Radio Ozodi, the sentences for Akmal Yusupzoda and Ismoiljon Shukurov were issued on February 28. The court found Yusupzoda guilty of kidnapping a person by prior agreement (part 2 of article 130) and murder with particular cruelty (part 2 of article 104) of the Criminal Code, while Ismoiljon Shukurov was found guilty of kidnapping a person. The lawyer and the defendant himself claimed that he did not intend to kill the lecturer.

As a result, the court sentenced Colonel of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Akmal Yusupzoda to 19 years of imprisonment, and his relative Ismoiljon Shukurov to 12 years in a penal colony.

It is unknown how the relatives of the defendants reacted to these sentences. It is also unclear whether they intend to appeal the verdict.

The lecturer of the Tajik State University of Commerce Ismoil Rakhmonov was a colleague of Akmal Yusupzoda’s wife. Rakhmonov went missing on June 12, 2022.

It later became known that Ismoil Rakhmonov was kidnapped by Colonel of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Akmal Yusupzoda, forcibly taken to the Ayni district, killed, and thrown into the Fondaryo River.

The prosecutor stated that Yusupzoda discovered private correspondence between his wife and Rakhmonov and committed this crime out of jealousy. However, Rakhmonov’s relatives deny any connection between them, except for professional relations.

The body of Ismoil Rakhmonov has not yet been found.